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Rangers vs Celtic injury news as Ange Postecoglou delivers update
Celtic could be without four first-team players for their Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers on Sunday afternoon.
Reo Hatate, Liel Abada and Jota are currently all being assessed and are due to return to training this week ahead of the match against Michael Beale’s side.
Ange Postecoglou has also shared an update on James Forrest, with the veteran attacker unlikely to feature against the Light Blues.
“We’ll see how they go. Abada, Jota and Reo are the main three. They are due to train all week, so it will just come down to how they go during the training week,” said the Celtic boss (Celtic TV, quoted by Glasgow Evening Times, 25 April).
“If they get through the training week, they will be available. Everyone got through the weekend okay. It’s only really James Forrest who probably won’t be available come the semi-final.”
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If the trio are missing, it could well be advantage to Rangers. Hatate in particular has proven himself to be an excellent addition at Parkhead. The Japanese midfielder gets Celtic playing, breaks up play and allows other players to thrive as a result.
We all know the quality Jota possess in attacking areas. The forward is an expert finisher and Rangers’ backline would be more than happy to see the 24-year-old miss the clash at Hampden Park. It’s a similar situation with Abada. The Israeli’s pace and direct running could cause Borna Barisic no-end of problems.
The significance of this fixture cannot be lost on Michael Beale and Rangers. A defeat will almost certainly hand the Bhoys a treble and compound what has been an awful season. It’s up to Beale to conjure up a plan which is different to previous encounters against Celtic.
He’s yet to get one over on Postecoglou. Sunday would certainly be a good time for the Rangers boss to notch his first win over the big Aussie.
In other Rangers news, Ally McCoist believes one Gers player has to play in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic to stop Kyogo from running rampant.